Exposition of the Whole Bible

they were aljo both of them bis wives; polygamy, though not agreeable to the law of nature, nor the law of God, was a cuftom which prevailed in thofe times, which good men gave into, though not to be commended for it.

¥. 44. Bat Saul bad given Michal bis daughter, Davia’s wife; to Phalti the fon of Laifh, &c. + Or for Saul, &c.* which is a reafon for his marrying again, but no reafon for marrying more wives than one. Michal was his firft wite, and they lived lovingly together, until David was obliged to flee from Saul; and then he gave her to another; partly to

| 593 vex David, and partly if he could to break the relation between him and David, that he might not be thought to be his fon-in-law, and he to perfecute one in fuch a relation to him; and that this might not give David any fhew of claim, or be the means of his rifing tothe throne. This Phalti, to whom he gave her, is called Phaltiel, 2 Sam. iii. 15. which was of Gallim; which very probably was a city in the tribe of Benjamin, fince it is mentioned with feveral cities of that tribe; and as near Gibeah of Saut/, I, X. 29, 30.

formation of the Ziphites, went out again

| o; HIS chapter relates that Saw/, upon the inbaving 3000 chojen men of Ifrael; young men, fo called, becaufe ufually chofen for bufinefs, and for with an.armed force to. feek David, ¥.1, 2, 3; of war particularly, rather than old men; the fame which David having intelligence, and of the place where he pitched, came with one of his men and reconnoitred his camp, and finding Sau/ and his men afleep, took away his fpear, and the crufe of water at his head, and departed, without taking taking away his life, though folicited to it by his fervant, ¥. 4—12. which {pear and crufe of water he produced to the reproach of Abner, Saul’s general, and as a teftimony of his fincere regard to Saul, and that he had no defign upon his life, ¥. 13—20. of which Saul being convinced, bleffed ‘David, and returned home again, ¥. 21—25.

y. 1. And the Zipbites came anto Saul-to Gibeab, &c.] Of Benjamin, called fometimes Gibeach of Saul, becaufe it was the place of his birth and refidence; hither Sau/ had returned after his laft interview with David; whether notwithftanding what had paffled between him and. David, he had privately encouraged the Ziphites to watch David, and give him information of him where he was, and when it was a proper opportunity to feize him; or whether the Ziphites were fo officious as of themfelves to acquaint him with it, is not certain; the latter is probable, fince having attempted to betray David, they might fear, that fhould he come to the throne, he would remember it, and therefore they’ might be defirous of having him cut off by the hand of Saul: faying, doth not David bide bim- Self in the bill of Hachilah, which is before Fefoimon? the fame place where he was, when the Zipbites before gave information of him, ch. xxiii. 10. here he might chufe to be, fuppofing that the Ziphites now would not meditate any thing againft him, fince Seu/ had declared he would be king after him, and had made him fwear that he would not cut off his pofterity; and as he thought it his wifdom to provide againft the worft, knowing the inconftancy of Saul, he might judge this the moft proper place of fafety, and from whence he could, ‘on occafion, eafily retreat into the wildernefs; and jt may be alfo, becaufe it was near to Abigail’s eftate and poffeffions, which were now a good re- ‘fource for him... © y. 2. Then Saul are &c.] Immediately, glad of an opportunity to feize on David, having the fame difpofition towards. him as ever; and perhaps had repented he had not laid hold on him when he followed him out of the cave: end went down to the wildernefs of Ziph; or towards it:

7 Siwy Saul enim, Tigurine verfion; nam Saul, number he took with him when he fought him at Engedi, ch. xxiv. 2. to feek David in the wilder: nefs of Zipb; where or whereabouts he was informed by the Ziphites he was.

¥.3. And. Saul pitched in the bill of Hachilah; which is before Fefhimon by the way, &c.] To the wildernefs; the very fame place where the Ziphites fuggetted: David was: but David abode in the wildernefs; not in the hill of Hachilab, but in the wildernefs of Ziph itlelf: and he faw that Saul came after him into the wildernefs; he underftood by fome information he had, that Sau/ had fet out from Gibeah, and was coming to feek for him in the wildernels of Ziph; perhaps onathan had given shim intelligence; however he. was not quite certain, as appears by what follows.

¥.4. David therefore fent out fpies; &c.] To obferve if he was coming or come, and where he was, that he might not be furprized by him; for though David knew the Lord was, and would: be his protection, he thought proper to be upon’ his guard, and to make ufe of means for his fafety + and underftood that Saul was come in very deed; that he was moft certainly come, and come to fome certain place; which he himfelf went to reconnoitre, as in the following verfe.

¥. 5. And David arofe, and came to the place where Saul had pitched, &c,]. Came near it, within fight of it; fo that he could take a view of it with his nakedseye, and obferve -where, and in what manner he was incamped: and David beheld: the place where Saul lay, and Abner the fon of Ner, the captain of bis boft; where he:and his general. had. their quarters in the camp: and Saul lay in the trench; or circuit; not in the fofs or ditch thrown up, in which an army fometimes lies intrenched; but this is to be underftood either of the camp itfelf, fo called, as Ben Gerfom, Abarbinel and Ben Melech think, becaule it lay ina circular form, that all comers to it on every fide might be feen; or elfe a fort of fortrefs all around the camp, made of carriages joined together; and, as the word fignifies, a Carriage, cart or chariot, it may defign the chariot in which Sau/ flept, as kings have been ufed to do when not in their houfes; and to this the Septuagint agrees, which ufes a word that Procopius Gaz@eus fays fignifies one kind of a chariot, and is ufed of a.chariot drawn by mules, in the Greek verfion of Jf Ixvi. 20. Grotius obferves, kings ufed to fleep in chariots where there were no houfes;

fee ch. xvii. 20, though he rather feems to have flept, /ub die, in the open air: and the people pitched round about him, both for the fake of honour, and for his greater fecurity; this fhows it could not be the fofs he laidin, for then they could not pitch around him.: ¥. 6. Then anfwered David, &c.] Or addreffed himfelf to the two following perfons: and faid to _ Abimelech the Hittite; who was either an Hittite by birth, but was become a profelyte, or he was an Traelite that had dwelt among the Hittites, ‘and fo had this name given him; the former feems *moft wrobable; fome fay * this was Uriah the Hittite: and to Abifbai the fon of Zeruiah, brother to Foab; Zeruiah was the filter of David, 1 Chron. ii. 16, 16. and thefe were two fons of hers, who very ' probably joined David at the cave of Adullam, ch. xxiix1. faying, who will go down with me t Saul to the camp? that is, which of you two: and Abifbai faid, I will go down with thee, the other being timorous, or 4i/bai being moft forward fpoke firft. ¥.7. So David and Abifbai came to the people by night, &c.) Fofephus' wrongly fays, that he took “with him both Aéifoai and Abimelcch; he chofe to have but one for the greater fecrefy. This was a bold enterprize, for two men to go into a camp of

3000 men, though it was in the night; when tho’ they might fuppofe the greater part of them were afleep, yet they could not well fuppofe this of all, and efpecially of the guards or centinels; but no doubt David was moved to this, not merely by the dint of his natural courage, but by the fpirit of

God, by whom he might be affured of protection, and that Sau/and the people were caft into a deep fleep by the Lord, as they were, ¥. 12. and this the Lord moved him to, that he might havean opportunity a fecond time to convince Sau/ of his innocence, and that he had no defign upon his life: and bebold, Saul lay fleeping within the trench; fee the note on ¥. 5. and his fpear fluck in the ground at bis bolfter; ready to take up and defend himfelf, fhould he be furprized; or this was his fcepter, which he always carried about with him, as an enfign of royalty, and by which very probably David knew which was Saul’s tent or couch, where he flept: dut Abner and the people lay round about him, as in y. 5..

¥.8. Then faid Abifoai to David, &c.] Seeing Saul fatt afleep, and a fpear fo near him: God hath delivered thine enemy into thine band this day; or at this time, properly it was night: now therefore let me {mite bim I pray thee with the Spear; with Sauz?’s own fpear, which was ftuck in the ground at his bolfter. He remembered that David would not put forth his hand to flay him before, when he had an opportunity; and fince now another offered, he did not move it to him todo it, but begged leave to do it himfelf; which he might think would be granted, fince there was fuch a remarkable hand of providence in it, which feemed to.direct to fuch a ftep: even to the earth at once, and I will not (nie him the fecond time, fignifying, that he would give fuch a home blow or thruft, that the fpear fhould pierce thro’ him, and faften him to the ground, that there would be no need to

Tepeat it. ¥.9. And David faid to Abifbai, defroy bim not,

&c.] He laid his commands upon him not to hurt him: for who can firetch forth his hand againft *

“. the Lora’s enointeds be guiltless? ince: Saud ‘ was king, and appointed to that office by the Lord and was anointed by his order for it, and inve with it by him, his perfon was facred, and not be touched; nor could his life be taken away any without being guilty of a very great crime would refent and punith. PRR y.10, And David faid furthermore, &c.| Inorder to make Abi/bai eafy, and prevent his doing what he propofed: as the Lord liveth; which was the form of an oath, made to affure Abi/bai of the truth of what follows, and therefore he need not be haity to put Sau/ to death, fince it would not be long ere he fhould die, in one or other of the three fullowing ways: either the Lord fhall fmite him, faddenly, which the Fews call cutting off, or death y the hand of heaven, by the immediate hand of God: or his day fball come to die, the time appointed for him to die a natural death, of fome difeafecommon to men: or be fall defcend into battle, and perifob; which was commonly reckoned death, cafual or accidental, andin which lait way Saué did diey ch. xxxi. 3, 4. -"

y. tr. The Lerd forbid that I foould firetch forth mine hand againft the Lord’s anointed, 8c.) Or futfer any about him to do it; he dpeaks of it, with the urmoft deteftation and abhorrence: but, I pray thee, take thou now the [pear that is at bis bolfter; not to finite him with, as he defired, but to carry off, and was no other than his {ceptre; fee the note on ch. xx, 33. and the crufe of water; which ftood * in the fame place, as appears by the next verfe. Some take this to be a pot to make water in; others an hour-glafs, to know the time of night, in which not fand, but water flowed for that purpofe: but rather this was for his refrefhment, Id he be hot and thirfty in the night, or to purify him from any noéurnal pollution that.might happen;’ for, according’ to Clemens of Alexandria =, it was a cuftom of the Yews,often to purify themfelves in bed: though Fortunatus Scacchus* thinks, Saul had this pot or cup for a religi fe; which he had with him, and with it gave thanks to God the author of all good, whenever he fat ene a meal; fuch as the golden cup Péilip king of Macedon always had under his pillow when he flept®: - and let us go; and do nothing more; which would be fufficient to convince they had been there, and to fhew what was in their power to do, had they. been fo inclined. | * ab. Pa)

y. 12. So David took the {pear, and tbe, el of water from Saul’s bolfter, &c.| Abifbai either tefufing to take them, fince he might not take away his life;,or it may.be rather, David thought better of it, and took them himfelf, left abifbad— ould be tempted, when fo near to Sani, and his, {pear in-his hand, and fhould thruft -him wit its tho

David may be faid to take them by the hands of Abifoai: and they gat them away; with | above things along with them ae it, mor knew it; faw them in the camp, or knew what they did: meither. awaked 5 at theit talking ther, at the motion of their feet, and taking av the fpear and crufe: for they were ail off whi was very e inary, that an:

ake, not even t which might but it is pain (| by what follows: deep fleep from the Lord was fallen “= deed, which it might be juftly expected the ord a fleep of the Lord’; fn Wiety great one, an un- Common one; fo great trees, mountains, &¢, are called trees and mountains of God;

y. 19a ben David went over to the other fide, 8cc. To a hill on the other fide, oppofite to Hachilab, where Sau/ lay incamped; ‘or paffed over the paffage>, the valley that lay between the two hills, and pafied over a brook that ran inthe valley, which is not unufual; fo Fo/ephus* fays, that he went over brook and came to the top of a mountain: and ftood on the top of ax bill afar off; he chofe the top of an hill, that his voice might-be heard at a diftance, as it might inja clear air, and ftill night; be afar off, that he might the better’ make his efcape, fhould an attempt be made to purfue him: a great {pace being between them, a large valley lyvery blame-worthy, if he had neglected to fet a watch over the king, whofe bufinefs it was as a or, according) general; the words are expreffed in a figure called meiofis, in which lefs is faid than was intended: as ¢he Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, becaufe ye have not kept your mafter, the Lord’s anointed; if a watch was fet, and thefe had fallen afleep, and negle€ted their duty, or had deferted their poft; which |to do was a capital crime, and deferving of death; wherefore he does not fay this of Abner, but of the watch: and now fee where the king’s fpear is, and perhaps) the cruje of water that was at bis bolfter, which he then held up as proofs and evidences of the truth alof what he faid, that one had been in the camp and had carried off thefe, and who could as eafily have deftroyed the king, as to have taken thele) away; and as he came hither with an intent to deand tojftroy him, would have dofe it, had he not been prevented by David; all which -likewife plainly proved the negligence of Abner, in-not fetting a watch about his mafter, or the negligence of the to our fupplement, it was from ‘the Lord, he was ‘the caufe and author of it; he caft them into this fleep, or caufed it to fall upon them, and locked them up in it, that they might not hear David and his fervant when they came among them.

ing between the two hills. watch that was fet.... y¥. 14. And David cried unto the people, &c.] To the army of Sau/ with a loud voice, that he might be heard: and to Abner the fon of Ner s particularly to him, becaufe he.was general of the army: faying, anfwereft thou not Abner?

¥. 17." And Saul knew David’s voice, &¢,] Tho* /dner at firft did not, as appears by his words, but Sau/ did, being by this time thoroughly awake through the difcourfe that pafled between David it feems he hadjand Abner: is this thy voice, my Son David? the fame queftion he put before, when he followed him out of the cave, ch. xxiv. 16. fee the note there: and David faid, it is my voice, my lord, O king; he not only owns him to be king, whom he fought not to depofé, but his own liege lord and fovereign, whofe commands he was ready to obey. y¥. 18. And be faid, wherefore doth my lord thus purfue after his fervant? &c.] Suggefting, that it was both below him to do it, and againft his intereft; for David was his fervant, and he would gladly have continued in his fervice, and done his bufinefs, but he drove him from it, and purfued tojhim as a traitor, when he had not been guilty of called to him more than once, and he had returned no anfwer; perhaps not being thoroughly awake, or not knowing whofe’ voice it was, and from whence it came‘ then Abner anfwered and faid, who art thou that crieft to the king? but it does not _ appear that David called to the king, only to the people, and to der their general, and therefore may be better rendered, y the king’; that is, near him, or before him‘, in his prefence. Kimchi and Ben Melech explain it, upon the king, or over him; and the Targum is, at the head of the king; _ the meaning is, how he could act fuch a part as ~ to call fo loud within the king’s hearing, as

» Ifrael 2. none that baré fo great a name, or was in king hear the words « difturb the king’s reft, and awake him out ef his ~ fleep.”, ~Ithe following quettions + for what have I done 2° or y. 15. And David faid to Abner, art not thou a valiant man? 8c.) Or aman‘, a man of great fame for courage and valour, aman of great authority, who had the next poft in the army under Saul, but had not behaved like a man, worthy of _his charadter and office: and who is like to thee.in what vil is 1n mine band 2 what crime had he committed, that he was purfuted after this manner, and his life fought for? what had he done worthy of death? having a clear confcience, he could boldly afk thefe queftions..

any offence to his knowledge: and therefore puts e, I pray thee, let my lord the bis fervant, 8&c.} Whether fo high an office, who therefore fhould have been careful to haye aéted according to both: wherefore then haft thou not kept thy lord the king? to have fet a guard about his perfon while he flept; which perhaps was negleéted through a contempt of David and his men, as being in no fdlibos for there came one of the people i to deftroy the ‘thy lord;, that is, there had been one in the camp that wight, who had entered there with'that view to * deftroyed him, had’ hesan opportunity, and which did offer; this was true’of Abi/bai, who no doubt awent down be David into the camp with that intent, though David did not, and therefore he fays ‘one of the people, not more; for though two went in, only one with that view: David obferves David waited for an anfwer to his queftion, is not certain,; probably he did, and obferving none retook carejturned, defired audience of what he had farther to fay: if tbe Lord have flirred thee up againft me, if he had put it into his heart to perfecute him thers:lafter this manner, for fome fin he had committed kinglagainft him, tho’ not againft Sau?: did that appear to ‘bethe cafe, /et Lim accept an offering; my offerhaveing, as the Targum; or my prayer, as Farchi; I would offer a fin-offering according to the law, to make atonement for epninee and might hope it would be accepted; or I would make my fupplication to God, and intreat him to forgive mine iniquity, and fo an iffue be put to thefe troubles; or thould it be a capital crime deferving of death he

.tothem the danger the king was in, his -careful- h nefs of him to preferve his ‘lifey to whom only it his fault in that way; or if both of them had finned, was owing, and the negligence of Abner, and thofe in any refpect, he propofed to join in an accept- ~ under his command. - “abl crifice to God, and fo reconciliation be made, was guilty of, he was content to die, and fatisfy for © y¥. 16. This thing is not good that thou haft done, and matters adjufted in {uch a religious way; if:

&c.] Yea, it was very bad, a great fault, ata was the evil fpirit from the Loud that had en-. o-i2 ex

« diforder to feize him, which had. put! him upon Bochart*will have it to be the woad-cock, {nipe

* may be obliged to quit my country, and go into

| ‘the word an ow/; the word is Kore, and from the e 4 ' a rk ee: one tered into Saul, or God had-fuffered a melancholy ures, let an offering agreeable to the will a gy Baal or fupplication made for the | Kore or removal of it: but if they be she children of men; that incited him to fuch*iolent methods, as Abner his general, or Doeg the Edomite, and others: curfed be they before the Lord;

out this day from abiding in the inberitance of Lord; meaning not from his own houfe and family, nor from the palace of Sau/, but from the land of Canaan the Lord hadgiven to his people) Hfrael for an inheritance, and from the worthip ‘of "God in it, which made it dear and precious to him; he knew if Sau/ went on purfuing him in this man- “her, he muft be obliged'to quit the land, and go into a foreign country, as he quickly did; Targum senders it, the inheritance of the people of the Lord: by being driven out of the jand which. was their inheritance, he fhoul@ be deprived of ~ their company and ‘converfation, and. of all focial)the cuckow, though h aba as oth 3 fnite. »Some chufe to read the words, re, ast e partridge on the mountains hunts;” whi hy it is faid, hunts and feeks after the ne sof o he birds, and fits on their éggs 3 fee Fer. Xvii. i pe {fo 4 hunted.after David, thoughshe ‘could | geo * an imprecation of the ven- take | im 5 Several naturalifts “ obferve, ie the * ’; for they- have driven me) partridge is very difficult to be taken by the hunter. - Vga the Wy. 21 7 hen faid Seul, I have ‘finned, A es Which is more than he acknowledged efore, a ie yet it is. to be feared he had no true fenfe of his fin, ee real repentahce for it;_buty like Pharach, his guilty confcience for the prefent foreed this ORs - feffion from him; fee Exod. %. 27. return my Jon: David; meaning to his own houfe, or rather to his » palace, fince he ha@.difpofed of his wife to Another » fo thejman: for I will no more do thee harm 3 orfeckto do it by purfuing him from place to place, as he ‘ had done, which had given him a great deal of trouble and fatigue: ecau/e my foul was pr. cious in 4 ‘bine eyes this day; and therefore fpared,Whenhe, |.

geance of God upon them:' worthip; the confideration of which was eutting to him, ahd caufed the above imprecation from him on thofe who wére concerned in it, and who in effet by their a€tions were faying, go ferve other gods; for by being forced to go into an idolatrous country, he would be in the way of temptation, and be liable to be corrupted by ill examples, and to be perfuaded and enticed into idolatroys prac tices; and if he was kept from them, it would be no thanks to them, they did all they could to lead him into them; andif he was preferved, it would be owing tothe power and grace of God; the Zar um is, ** go David among the people that worfhip idols;” the Zews have a faying, that he that dwells without the land of J/rae/, it is as if he had no God, and as if he ferved an idol?. — ¥.20. Now therefore let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord, &c.] For fhould it be fpilled, God, who is omnifcient, will fee it, _and take notice of it é d eikgal pete and to whom vengeance belongs, he will avenge’ it: fome render it my blood foal! not fall joatt bres before the face of the Lord’; 1am continually under his eye and care, and he will protect and de-: fend me; and in vain is it for thee to purfue after me; I fhall: never fall Ron hands, though I could have taken it away » which fhewed that his» life Was dear to him, of great worth andvaluein — his account; and therefore he would neither ‘take it « away himfelf, nor fuffer another to do it: 7 bave_ Ny played the fool, and erred exceedingly; an feeking af- * ter his life, amd purfuing hith againy when he had * ~ fuch @ convincing proof of his fincerity and faithfulnefs, and of his cordial affeétion for him,» when '. he only cut off the fkirts of his garment in the ~~ cave, and fpared his life.. > "4-22, And David anfwered and faid, bebold the,. king’s fpear, &c.\ And which perhaps was his.” feeptre, and which David therefore would not keep, ha left it fhould be thought or faid that he had de- - - prived him of an enfign of his royalty,"and be ip- ~ + terpreted as a token of his defign to feize he 5. crown and throne: and let one of the young m,? ' come over and fetch it, for notwithftanding thé ace knowledgment Sau/ had made of:his fi ally,, David did not chufe to carry the fpear #6 him 08 a® ring’to truft hinj/and put himfelfinte | thee eed Teft the evil. {pirit thowld return and ¢o ‘ him fuddeniv; -andy alter jhis: difpofition’ 9 riage 5 nor would he fend any of his men with ity |. » whofe lives were dear to him, Jett BE ots be * 4, might be fent for it! ¥e23. The Lord render to ever an idolatrous nation, again{t my will: for the king of Ijrael iscome out to feck a flea, which leaps from place to A and is not eafily taken: or this may. denote what a mean, poor, weak, infignificant ‘perfon David was; and how much it'was below Saul tocome out with an army of chofen men in od. a _purfuit of him; fo the Zargum, ‘* the king of is come out to feek one that is weak or feeble:** as when one doth bunt apartridge in thé mountains 3 kings for. their delight ufed to do, as bardinel obferves; but this being a bufinefs of pleafure, and this a bird of worth, fome other is thought to be here intended. Indeed the partridge is repre- Tirael prayer of f2 th:s for David doubted not, Sau/ might fail, yet God could not: for @ as elivered thee into my hand this day, into hand*; into» the hand of wdbifbai, who Let tit power to flay him, avhén he went and toe {pear that was at his bolfter, and would have. it, but-.David fuffered hinr not: | tT wo ula fented as worth no..more than an odolus, or five farthings, though 50 drachma’s or drams were ordered to be paid for one’; the Septuagint renders Stretch forth my hand againft the Lord’s anointed; nor fuffet another to ftretch forth his hand rainf him; focareful tender was he of his life?

¥.24. And » as thy fife was m this day in mine eyes, 8c.) Or magnifies etymology of it, one would think it was the ra- eS, aes ™ made great account of, as being the’ life’, < E. ¢ sat + * % 7 yen or crow. archi on Fer. 17. 11. takes ito be

; ¥ os: at ci ¥ * id - = * * »; ns Aes. Ly 4,:. eth *: 4, ae. » = 4 ee > ~ | 3s; eee > 7., <a » - =« 5. Ch. XXVI. > aE I—— 3. > I ghd lM U7 E P a *st3 king of Iirael, and the Lord’s anointed, and fo Apared: fo let my life be much fet by in the Lord; he does not fay in the eyes of Saul, as it dhould have been by- My of retaliation, and.as it might have been expected he would have faid; but and pronounced him Blefea himfelf, ybelieving he eyes of the} would be a happy and profperous man: thou foalt oth do great things; he had done great things already, in flaying Goliath, obtaining victories over the Philiftines, and efcaping the hands of Sau/, he « had no dependence on Sau/, nor expected ju- _ ftice to be done him by him; but he prays that his e might be precious in the fight of the Lord, d taken care of, and proteéted by him,.as he believed it would: and let him deliver me out of tribulation; for as yet he did not think himfelf quite out of it, notwithftanding all that Sau/ had faid, but believed the Lord would deliver.him.injagain due time;_ from him aloné he looked for it, and on and keeping out of them with fo finall a force; and he fhould do greater things yet: aud alfo foalt fil! prevasl againft Saul; and all his enemies; the Tergumis, ‘‘, even in-reigning thou fhalt reign, and ailjeven_in profpering thou fhalt profper,” he believed he would be king, fo he had faid before, ch. xxiv. 20. fo David went o# bis way; to the wildernefs very probably, putting no truft and confidence in Saz/, knowing how fickle and unftable he him he depended. waste and Sail returned to bis place; to Gibeab;

_ 25. Then Saul faid to David, bleffed be thou, where his palace was. * int my fon David, &c.] He defired God to blefs him, * Tie Sk ° CHAP. XXXVI.

D AVID fearing he fhould perith by the hand _of Saul at one time or another; went into the land of the Pdilifines, which Saul hearing of, fought no more after him, ¥.1—4. and finding favour in the eyes ‘of the king of Gath, defired place in his country might be given him to refide in; and accordingly Zik/ag was given him, y. 5, 6, 7. from whence he made excurfions into the land of the Amolekites, and others, and utterly deftroyed them; but impofed on the king of Gath, pretending he had made his road into the ~ fouthern parts of Fudab, yy. 8—12. te ¥. 2. of me, to feck me any more in any coaft of Iirael; hearing that he was, gone-into a foreign country, would feek for him no ‘more in any part of the land of J/rae/, and fo defpair of ever getting him ajinto his hands, would lay afide all thoughts abour him for the future’: fo /hall 1 e/cape out of bis hand; and be for ever fafe: ‘thefe were the carnal reafonings of his mind, under the prevalence of unbelief; and fhews what poor weak creatures the beft of men are, and how low their graces may fink as to exercife, when left to theméelves. ° * And.David arofe, &c.] From the place

-' |where he was: and be pajfed over 5 the borders of y. 1. And David faid in bis heart, &c.] Within the land of Canaan: with the 600 men that were things in his own mind, and confidering the circumiftances in which he was, and things appearing very gloomy tohim, he falls into.a fit of. unbelief, and thus addreffes himfelf: J /ball now one day perifh by the band of Saul; for though he was returned to his palace, he knew he was reftlefs and uneafy, very unconftant and unftable, and not at all to be depended on; yea, he might conclude that Saul obferving that God was with him in protécting and defending him, and by delivering him into his hands once and again, he would be the more jealous of him, and envious at him, andjhe feck all opportunities and advantages againft him; and he feared that one time or another fuch would offer, and would be taken, and fo he fhould perifh by him: this was a ftrange fit of unbelief was funk into, and very unaccountable and unreafonable it was; had he but confidered his anointed king by the Lord, the promife of God to him, which could not fail, and the providence of God that watched over him from ein time: there is uathing better for me than that I foould peedily efcape into the land of the Pbiliftines which may feem ftrange, when he was advifed by the prophet Gad to depart from the land of Moad, and go into the land of Fudab, and where he been {0 wonderfully preferved; and when he was in fo much danger, when in the landof the Phili/- tines before, infomuch that he was obliged to feign himfelf mad; and feeing this alfo was the very thing he lately dreaded, and curfed the men that ” Should be the caufe of his going out of his own land into an idolatrous one: and Saul foall defpair whilft he was pondering) with him, having neither loft any, nor had any ‘ added to him, fince he was at Keilab, ch. xxiii, 13. unto <Achifh, the fon of Maoch, king of Gath; whether this was the fame dchifh David was with before, ch. xxi. is not certain; it feems ‘as if he was not the fame, fince ‘he is defcribed as the fon of Maoch, as aif it was to diftinguifh him from him; though it is not improbable that he was the fame perfon. Some think * that he is defcribed not from his father, but from his mother, whofe name was Maacha. ‘The circumftances of David were now very much altered from what they were when went to Gath before; then he went. fecretly, now openly; then as a perfon unknown, now as well known; then alone, now with 600 men 3 then when difcovered he was feized by the princes hejof Gath, and brought before the king, 'and was driven from his prefence; but, now he came beingjeither at the invitation of Achif>, hearing how he had been treated by Saw/, and thinking to attach him to his intereft, and make him more and more the enemy of Saul, and fo free himfelf from a very powerful one, and of whofe wifdom and prudence, and military fkill, and courage, and valour, he might * hope to avail himfelf; or He fent an ambafly to him, to treat with him about his coming into hadjhis country, | and fettlement in it, and terms to mutual fatisfaction were agreed upon.

| ¥. 3. dnd David dwelt with Achifo at Gath, &c.] The metropolis of his kingdom, called y, 5. the royal city: be and bis men, every man with dis houfbold; or family; which they brought with them, to fecure them from the malice of Sau/; who in their abfence might have deftroyed’ them, as being the families of traitors and fugitives, and might be more readily received by Achi/b, as of Be echt hope for fome advantage from them; and belides were pledges of their fidelity to him, and of their defign to continue with him s even David with bis two wives, Abinoam the Fezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite/s, Nabal’s wife; whohadj been the wife of Nadal; of thefe fee ch. xxv. This claufe feems to be added by the oy ee this hiftory, after the death of Samite 5 y might be Gad or Nathan, fome fay Ezra, and Abarbinel that Jeremiab was the writer of it.

y. 7. And the time that David dwelt in the co s,|try of the Philiftines, &c.) At Gath and Ziklag 3 was ¢ full year and four months, or days and four months, days being fometimes put for a year,

43- Jude. xvii. 10. though fome interpret it not of & y.4. Andit was told Saul, that David was fled to Gath, 8&c.] Who very probably had his fpies out to watch his motions, and report to him where he was, and what he was doing: and he fought no more again for him, by which it feems as if he would have fought after him again, had he continued in the land of J/rael; but now being gone, and in an enemy’s country, and having nothing to fear from him whilft there, he laid afide all thoughts of feeking after him. died he left the land of the

¥. 5. And David faid unto Achifh, &cc.| After Tbe had been fome time with him; if [have now year, but of fome few days out of the fifth Sib befides the four months; fo Jarchi and Kimchi s and Yo/ephus * makes his abode to be 4 months and 20 days; but according to the Septuagint and Vulgace Latin verfions, it was only four months; and fo it may be rendered days, that is, four montbss for according to the Fewifh chronology Samueb died 4 months before Sax/, and this fight of David was after the death of Samuel, and when Seub PArliftines, and took the throne of Fudab; fee the note on ch. xxy, 1. °¥. 8. And David and bis men went up, &c.} found grate in thine eyes; or was in favour, as he thought'himfelf to be, by various inftances of _re- {pect fhewn him: Jet them give me a place in fome town in the country, that I may dwetl there; he does not afk for a city or town, buta place in one of them, though one was given him; but of whom he afks it, it.is not eafy to fay; though it is certain that A£cbifh gave it him, ¥.6. Perhaps he might defire it might be given him by Achyh, with the confent of his princes and nobles, or at leaft of his privy-council; that fo it might be to general fatisfaction, andthe grant more authentic; though it may be imperfonally read, as in the Vulgate Latin verfion, Jet there be given me, &c. David’s view in this might be partly to prevent the envy of the courtiers of Achifh, who might think that David was too near the king, and might have too great an intereft in him, and receive too many of his favours, and become his chief confident and prime minifter; and partly to preferve himfelf and people from all temptations to idolatry, and corruptions in religion; as alfothat he might have an opportunity, without the knowledge of Achi/h, to fall upon the enemies of J/rae/, though the excufe he made was as follows, for why /hould thy Servant dwell in the royal city with thee? for fo Gath was; and 600 men and their families might feem to croud the city; and this reafoning of his might fuggeft, that he and his men were a {traitening of him, and a burden on him; and it might feem as if he was a rival with him in ftate and dignity, when he was no other than a fervant. of his, ¥.6. Then Achifo gave bim Ziklag that day, &c.) A city which in the divifion of the land, was given to the tribe of Yudab, and after that to the tribe of Simeon, Fofb. xv. 31. and xix. 5. though it feems not to have been poffeffed by either of them, at leaft not long, but foon came into the hands of the Philiftines, who kept it till this time, and now it returned to its right owners; according to Bunting * it was 12 miles from Gath: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of ‘fudab unto this day; not to the tribe of Fudab, though it originally belonged to it, but to the kings of it, it being granted to David, who quickly after this became king of Zudabh; and this was annexed to the crownlands, and ever after enjoyed by the kings of the houfe of Fudab, for this was not given for atemporary habitation, but for perpetual poffeffion. had they made their excurfion to fetch in the: and booty they now brought? and David ai ageinft the fouth of Judah; he meant againtt fo people that lay to the fouth of the land of Ju

Gefburites; tome of the old inhabitants of the” land of Canaan, the remains of the 4moriles, whofe land was given to the half tribe of Manajfeb, but could never be expelled; and therefore David had a juft right to invade them, and if he could, either expel or deftroy them; fee Deut. iii. 14. o h. xii,

5. and xiii. 11, 13. thefe are the Gefburites which

Gezrites; the inhabitants of Gezer, which place. fell to the tribe of Ephraim; but that tribe could not drive out the inhabitants of it, and therefore David now fell upon them as the enemies of J/- rael, and feized on their country as belonging to” them, o/b. xvi. 3. Fudg.-i. 29. and the Amale- to root out. Thefe were fuch as had efcaped the fword of Sau/, and had fied to the more diftant haps thefe had fled to, and mixed themfelves with.’ the people here mentioned: for shefe nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, of the land of Canaan: as thou goeft to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt; fee ch xv. 7. ¥.9. And David fmote the land, &c.} In which the above-mentioned people dwelt, that is, the in= habitants of it: and left neither man nor woman alive; for thefe being the old Canaanites and Aimalekites, according to the law of God were not tobe fpared, but utterly {(deftroyed; which may be obferved to take off the charge of cruelty that might _ be brought againft David on this account, Deys. vii. 2. and xxv. 19. though this muft be underftood of fuch that came within his reach; for it is certain there were people of thefe feveral names after this; fee ch. xxx. 1. 2 Sam. iii. Zn 1 Kings ix.15. and took away the foeep, and the oxen, and the affes, andthe camels, and the apparel, and returned, and cgme to Achifh; at Gath, to make a report of what he had been about and done; and_ of his men and their families.

a road to-day? &c.) Or whither had they rufhed.

From Ziklag, where they dwelt: and invaded the.

are joined with the Pbiliftines, Fofb. xiii. 2. and the kites; the {worn and implacable enemies of Jrae,._ and whofe memory they were laid under obligation parts, againft whom David now went; and per- __ what he brought was a good booty for the fupport ¥.10. And Achifo faid, whither have ba made in, Or poured in and fpread themfelves? or where without it; but exprefféd himfelf fo that Acbifo might think he meant the fouthern parts of Yudab within the country; which though not a downright lie, was an equivocation, and made with a defign to deceive; and was by no means agreeable to the character of David, nor to be defended nor imi- make, tated: and againft the fouth of the Ferabmeelites thefe were the defcendents of ‘erabmeel, the fon Hezron, the grandfon of Fudab, and fo inhabited in the tribe of Judah, and very probably in the fouthern part of it, 1 Chron. ii. 9, 25, 26. and againft the fouth of the Kenites; the pofterity of Fethro; thefe, at leaft fome of them, at the firft| feating of the children of J/rael in the land of naan, went with the children of Yudah into the| wildernefs of udab, which lieth in the fouthof out againft and {mote fome of the cities of Fudab that he might place the greater confidence in Kins § which end would not have been anfwered, if he had brought any of them to Gath: aad fo the words may be read without the fupplement we pared neither man nor woman alive to bring, toGath; and focould tell notales. Tho’ ¥ofepbus exof preisly fays*, that David fpared the men, and abitained from the flaughter of them, fearing left they fhould declare to the king what he had done in plundering them: faying, left they fhould tell on us, faying, fo did Davids in fuch and fuch places fuch numbers of people he deftroyed, and fich Ca- quantities of cattle and goods he carried off: and o will be bis manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philiftines, this is what may be expected will be done by him in one place or another,

¥. 11, And David faved neither man nor woman)as alive to bring tidings to Gath, &c.) How David long as he ftays here; nothing will be heard of but defolation and deftruction; in fome part of the coun-— had fallen upon thefe people, and deftroyed great numbers of them, and carried off their fubftance; which would have given great offence to Achifh, and caufed him to have driven him out of his country once more; though Abardinel is of opinion, that thefe Gefburites, &c. were haters and enemies of Achifh, and therefore were {mitten and fpoiled by David; or otherwife it would have been fuch a piece of perfidy, rebellion, and ingratitude, as muft have made the name of David to ftink, fince it could not but be known fooner or later; but being the enemies of Achi/b, no notice was taken of it afterwards, nor enquiry made about it, nor complaint made of it, by any of their neighbours: nor does he fuppofe they were all cut off, and much lefs that this was done that it might not be told in Gath what deftruétion he had made; but that the fenfe is, that he did not carry the captives to Gath, to be difpofed of there; for they would have told from whence they came, and fo have contradi¢ted what David faid, and what he would have Achifo underftand, as if he had been try of the Philifines or another; or among thofe that were tributaries to them; fo that it was not fafe that he fhould be allowed to abide in it.

w.12. And Achifo believed David, &c.] As he would have him underftand his ftory; impofing upon him by ambiguous terms; infinuating he had been againft the fouthern parts of Yudab; when he had been againft foreign nations that lay to the fouth of Fudab: faying, he bath made his people Ifrael utterly to abbor him 5 they'll never forgive him the deftruction of their cities, and the inhabitants of them, and the plunder of their goods and cattle; his name will be had in the utmoft detefta~ tion and abhorrence, and he mutt never return thither any more: therefore he foall be my fervant for ever; would be glad to continue with him as a fers vant, and be obliged to ferve him faithfully and truly, fince his own people, and even thofe of his own tribe, would never more receive him; it being, as he underftood it, the fouth of Fudah that he had been plundering.

Bt Philiftines gathering together, to fight with J/rael, Saul trembled at it, not being

David; who feems to have beeti at the head of the combined armies of the Philiftines: know thou af- able to get any anfwer from the Lord about it in| uredly, that thou fhalt go with me to battle, thou any way whatever, y. 1—6. upon which he applies to a woman that had a familiar fpirit to bring him up Samuel, which fhe did, ¥.7—-14. and what paffed between Saul and Samuel, or at leaft the apparition in his form, is recorded, ¥. 15—19. which fo ftruck him, as to make him ftrengthlefs, and fo melancholy, that he refufed to eat until perfuaded; or rather compelled by the woman and his fervants, ¥. 20—25.

y. 1. And it came to pafs in thofe days, &c.| That David was inthe country of the Philifines: that the Philiftines gathered their armies together; out of their five principalities or lordfhips: for warfare to fight with Ifrael, with whom they were continually at war, and though fometimes there was a ceffation of arms, yet never any fettled peace; and the Péiliftines took every opportunity and advantage againft them, as they now did; when David was among them, and fo had nothing to fear from him, but rather expected his affiftance; and Samuel was dead, and Sau/ in a frenzy: and Achifo faid unto and thy men againft I/rael, which was a trying thing to David, and whereby he was like to be drawn into a dilemma; either to fight againft his country, which he could not do confcientioufly; of be guilty of ingratitude to. Achifb, and incur his difpleafure, and be liable tobe turned out of his country, or treated in a worfe manner, even he and his men, to be feized on and cut to pieces by the forces of the Pdiliftines, fhould he refufe. ¥. 2, And David faid to Achifb, Surely thou fhalt know what thy fervant can do, &c.] By which he would have Achi/fh underftand, ahd fo he did, thar he would exert himfelf in favour of the Philifines, and againft J/rae/, and do great and brave things, of which Achifb would be made fenfible, through his heroic courage and valour; tho’ he meant rather what he could and fhould do for J/rae/againtt the Phi+ lifines, if he had an opportunity; but it feems beft of all to confider David as quite undetermined, and at a lofs what.to do, hoping that God in his provi« dence would extricate him out of this difficulty, and direct him what he fhould do, which then Achifh would fpecially after he had enquired ‘of’ one “Khare.

iliar {pirit, as Kimchi obfervés } for fo jt is, 1 Chron. x. 14. the Lord anfwered bim not, neitber life » or he propofed to put him into this poft, witch to raife Samuel, and for the fake of that ftory: own city, to fhew that he was buried in that Ramah, which was his native place, and where his conftant refidence was; though as’ he fays it may mean that he was buried within the city, and not without it; but the Targum gives a different fenfe, ** and they buried him in Ramah, and mourned forhimevery man in his city:” and Saul had put away thofe that had femiliar {pirits, and the wizards out of the land’, out of the land of J/rae/, had by an-edict banifhed them, or had given orders. that neither -witches nor wizards fhould abide in’ the that fers, diviners, who pretended to give; inf of which there was a_ fchool not far from: h *; y¥. 7. Then faid Saul unto bis fervant. Bc. J; waited upon him, ‘to‘fomeé of them, to fuch could place moft confidence in to ae perhaps only the two after-mentioned 3 /e woman that hath a familiar /pirit, that I ma her, and enquire of ber; that was m efs bottle, a ventriloquift, \that fpoke eh hed or feemed to do; who had the fpirit of # divination, converfed with the devil, “and | is affiftance pretended to bring up a dead perfon, and thereby foretell things to. come; fee the note ©

Fofp. xvii. 14. it was not far from sGilboa. Mr. Maundrell {peaks ‘ of it as near Nain, at the foot when fhe found it was by Saul. of mount Hermon;

¥. 4. And the Philiflines gathered themféelves to~ gether, &c,] From different parts, and formed a}Gi confiderable army: and came and pitched in Shunem, a city in the borders of the tribe of J/achar, of which fee ‘the note on Yo/h. xix. 18. gathered all Ifrael together, and they pitched in Gilboa; a range of mountains, near Yezreel, and which Yerom ® calls the mountains of the Philifines, fix miles from Scythopolis, where there is a large and turning a little fouthward, he fays, you have in view the high mountains, of éoa. It is a tradition of the Jews", that thi woman was the. mother of Abner, the wife’o phaniah, fome fay her name was Zephaniab, but, and Sauljas Abarbinel obferves, ‘if fo fhe would have known Saul, and alfo Saul would have knowmher, and what fhe was, if, as they fay, fhe was fpared ‘ce of her relation to him; nor needed he to have e quired of his fervants for fuch a;woman. pod village called Ge/bus. ¥.8. And Saul difguifed bimfelf, and put on’

y. 5. And when Saul faw the boft of the Pbilitines, &c.\ From the mountains of Gi/boa, where ‘he had pitched his camp: be was afraid, and bis heart greatly trembled; on fight of the numbers of them, and thinking perhaps of the death- of Samuel, and of the lots of David; who was now among the Pbiliftines, and might poffibly fight againft him, and for the PAili/tines, of which he might be informed; however he was not with him, and his confcience might accufe him of various fins he had been guilty of, for which he might fear the Lord would now reckon with him.

¥. 6. And when Saul enquired of the Lord, 8c.} And this being not done truly and heartily, nor continued in, it was as if he had not enquiréd, and raiment, 8cc.| Stripped himfelf of his royal or military apparel, as fupreme commander clothed himfelf in the habit of a peafant or a cc mon foldier; and this not only thatthe might no be known by the woman,.but that he might pafs from his army incognito, and it might-not b known that he was gone, and efpecially whither was gone: and he went and two men with hi thefe according to the tradition c 4dmer and Amafa; but it is not probable fhould leave his army deftitute of heir ¢ — “ |fach*a time as this: and they came to ti by night, not only that they migk be feen, becaufe it was a work of darknefs they: were, about, and ir was only in the ight-feafon th eu vie ’ Cush > V3 to. sou Be ay ee Bey 2 5t Bae ares applied to, and afterwards when fhe was engaged,

: ob blucd!; sug yuvre Bal OWN te + Soa a ae i:

: a at. Chi xxvii. yio—i4g. LL SAMU EF I: er? perfons'exercifed their black art; though the Fews * fay it was day, only becatife of their diftrefs ir was like to night with them; ‘but the literal fenfe is beft: and be faid; I pray thee divine unto me by the. familiar fpirit; exercife her art of divination, by the affiftance of the familiar {pirit the ~with: and bring me bim up whom I foal] name unto thee; that is, from the dead; for necromancy was the kind.of divination fhe profeffed; and fuch perfons pretended to have a power to bringupa deceafed perfon, and confult with him about fecret be adviféd by him how to’ get out of the {traits and difficulties in which hé was involved; but it argued e%treme folly and madnefs in him to imagine, that the manes of this great and good man, was at the beck of a witch, and he co be called out of converfed the ftate of the déad by eisternees 3 or thac God would permit him to"appear to him, and by him give him an anfwer, when he would notan- {wer him by living prophets, nor any other way.

y.12. Aud when the woman faw Samuel, &c.] The appearance of him whom fhe took for Sa- and future things. imuel; no mention is made of the methods fhe y¥. 9: And the woman faid unto bim, &c.| Notjuled knowing who he was: debold, thou knoweft what Saul bath done, for by his fpeech and habit the perceived he was an Ifratlite, and fo muft be acquainted with what had paffed in the nation, cially of a public nature, and which made‘a great nioife, as doubtlefs this did: bow he beth cut of thofe that have familiar fpirits, and the wizards out of the land 3 as many of thém as he had knowledge of, or information about; and by this it appears, that he-did not merely expel them his dominions, but he put them’ to death, according to the law of God, Exod. xxii. 18. Lev. xx. 27. fo the putting them out of the land y. 3. was putting them to death, and the woman’s after reafoning confirms this: one fhould-think for Sau/ to be told this to his face muft fill him with: fhame and confufion, and his confcience muft accufe him of fin and to make this attempt; and he muft ftand felf-conviéted and felf-condemned; and it was enough to liave deterred him from purfuing his fcheme, had not lis heart been’ ftrangely hardened: wherefore then layeft thon a fnare for my life, to caufe me to die? fhefufpected that Seuland his men were perfons that came to trepan her; that when they had prevailed upon’ her to exercife her art, would tutn informers againft her, to the taking away of her life, it being death to’ practife ic.

y. 10. And Saul fware to her by the Lord, &c.]. By the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; it is much that Sau/, being about fuch a work of darknefs and wickednefs, could take the name of Lord ‘into his mouth, and {wear by him in fuch folemn manner; Which muft furely put him in mind of His ofinifcience, from whom this wicked a€tion could not’ be hid: faying, as the Lord liveth, there foall no punifhiment happen to thee for the tenor of the oath was, and fo the woman to raife him, to check the curiofity of fuch as might be defirous to know them, and to prevent imitation of them; though fome think that Samuel, or the apparition, was feen before fhe made efpe-jufe of any, which furprized her; but this feems /hot fo probable, and is only obferved for the fake of an hypothefis; though it muft be owned the word when is not in the text: fhe cried with a loud vozce; not fo much frightened at what the faw, and the manner of his appearing, and as thinking the refurrection of the dead was come, as fay the Fews”; as what fhe feared would be the confequence to her, even death by the hand of Saul; for jthough he had fworn no punifhment fhould come upon her, fhe might begin to fear fhe was not fafe, perceiving who he was: and the woman {pake to Saul, faying, why haft thou deceived me 2? for thou folly jart Saul; how fhe knew this is a queftion; it could not be by the appearance of Samuel, for it was Samuel fhe was to bring up; unlefs with Bex Ger/om it can be thought that fhe underftood him of another man, whole name was Samuel, and not Samuel the prophet; and fo when fhe faw him, concluded he was ‘Sau/, becaufe of the intimacy between them in his life-time; but this is not probable, nor does it appear that fhe as yet knew who it was, but rather the was told by her familiar fpirit, or by the apparition, fo Fofephus*, that it was Saul that enquired of her; or fhe gueffed at it by fome gefture of the apparition to Sau/, by way of homage and honour; and fo Abardinel thinks thejthat the claufe in ¥. 14. refpects not Saul’s bowing alto Samael, but Samuel bowing to Saul, and fo by this means the woman knew who he was. yi13. And the king. faid unto her, be not afraid, &c.] Meaning not of the apparition, but of him; this thing;\fince he had {worn no punifhment fhould come upun-jon her, and he fhou!d inviolably obferve his oath:

derftood it, that he would never make any difcovery of what fhe did, and fo fhe would be fafe from punifhment; though as he was the fupreme governor, and a very arbitrary prince, had it been difcovered, he could have fkreened her from juftice, though contrary to the law of God;, however, he could not fecure her from eternal punifhment.

or what faweft thou? for as yet Saul himfelf faw not any thing, the woman being between him and the apparition; or fhe might be in another room with her familiar fpirit performing the operations when Semuel'appeared: and the woman faid unto Saul, I faw gods afcending out of the earth; a great perfonage, one of a majeftic form, like the gods, y. rv. Then faid the woman, whom fhall 1 bring up unto thee 2p&c.| For fuch perfons, according to their profeffion, pretended they were able bring up any of the dead, that he'who enquired of them fhould name: and he faid, bring meup Samuel 5 the prophet Samuel he meant, and no doubt the woman fo wnderftood him, whofe name was well known; he had been an old acquaintance |of? &c. and friend of Sazi’s, his counfellor and advifer many things; and though he greatly negleétedjon? him in the latter part of his life, was very of an interview with him now dead, that he might or judges and civil magiftrates, fometimes. fo called, as Kimchi and R. I/aiah rightly interpret it; tojand fo the Targum, “ I faw an angel of the Lord,” a perfon that looked like one; for not many came up with him, and particularly Adofes, as fay fome Zewi/h writers *.

y.14. And be faid unto ber, what form is be Of what ftature is he? or rather of what injage does he feem to be? and what clothes has he as appears from the anfwer: and jhe faid, an defirous ‘old man cometh up, and be is covered with a mantle,. uch as either priefts or judges wore, and ee did in his life-time > and Saul perceived that it was Samuel; by the defcription fhe gave of him, by kis age and apparel; for as yet it is no® certain that he himfelf {aw him, though it fhould feem as if he did by what. follows:

that it was Samuel bim/elf; which feems to make for thofe-who think the real Samuel appeared, and no doubt Sau/ thought it was really he himfelf: and he flooped with his face to the ground, and bowed bimfelf, either in reverence to Samuel, and whom he hoped relief, and therefore was all obeyfance; or he put himfelf in this pofture, that he rnight liften and hear what fhould be faid; a general notion that fuch fpirits gave their refponfes whifpering and muttering, Jf. viii, 19. tho’ 4dar- Zinel, as before obferved, is of opinion, that this cluded from hence, and anfwereth me no more, nei= ther by prophets, nor by dreams 5 fee the riote on y. 6. he makes no mention of Urim, either be-. caufe they were not with him to enquire by,: be-' it is in the original, jing carried away by 4biathar when he fled to Da-. vid; or, as the Jews fay *, through: fhame, or faid nothing of the Urim before Samuel, as he took, this appearancé®to. be, becaufe he had flain - the: priefis at Nod, and becaufe of this fhame, they from fay, fin was forgiven him: therefore have I called thee, that thou mayeft make known unto me, wbat I foall do; which was downright inefs, it being)and folly to imagine, that fince God had forfaken him, and would give him no anfwer, that a prophet of his fhould take bis part; or when he could get no anfwer from a prophet of God on is to be underftood of Samuel, that he bowed to Saul in reverence of him as a king which does not fo well agree with the connexion of the words. Some have thought that it was the true Samuel, or the foul of Samuel, that appeared; fo Fofephus *, and many other writers: but to this may be ob- earth, that he could expect an agreeableyone from. one fetched down from heaven; one would be tempted to think that he himfelf. believed it was the devil he was talking to, and whom: he had called for under the name of Samuel, and expected to fee; for from whom elfe could he expect advice,.

jeéted, that that would not have afcended out of when he was forfaken of God, and his prophets?

the earth, but come down from heaven; and that it can’t reafonably be fuppofed that it was in the power of the witch, by the affiftance of the devil, to fetch it from heaven; nor be thought that God would fend it from thence on fuch an errand, to give Saul an anfwer, when he would not anfwer him by any prophet on earth, nor in any other way; and efpecially it feems quite incredible, that he fhould fend it at the motion of a witch, and through her inchantments, who, according to a law of his, ought not to live; whereas nothing could have given greater countenance to fuch a wicked profeffion than this; nor would the true Samuel have admitted fuch worfhip and homage to be paid him, as is expreffed in this laft claufe, which angelic fpirits have refufed, Rev. xix. 10.

y. 16. Then faid Samuel, wherefore then doft thou afk of me, &c.} Whom thou knoweft to have ‘been a prophet of the Lord, and therefore can fay nothing more or lefs than what eomes from him, and, ~ is according to,his will, if any thing at all 5: the devil perfonating Samuel, whom Saul had called for, and reafons in fuch language as might be thought to be his own, though fometimes he betrays himfelf: feeing the Lord is departed from thee; as Saul himfelf owned: to which he adds, and is become thine enemy; to make his cafe appear ftill more defperate; for his whole view is to lead him. to defpair, which fhows what fort of fpirit he was:. though fome underftand this as fpoken of David, and read the words, and he is with thine enemy’; is on his fide, and favours his caufe; fo the Zar- and xxii. g, 10. though perhaps no more than civil refpeét is intended: but rather this was a diabolical fpectre, or apparition, or the devil, appeared in the form and fhape of Samuel, and mimicked him; and.was one of thofe deceiving fpirits Porphyry fpeaks ‘ of, that appear in various fhapes and forms, and pretend to be gods or dwmons, or the fouls of the deceafed. Some * thimk alljhe this was the cunning and impofture of the alone, or that fhe was affifted with a confederate,who acted the part of Samue/; but this is not probable.

¥.15. And Samuel faid to Saul, why baft thou difquicted me to bring me up? &c.| This makes it a clear cafe, that this was not the true Samuel; his foul was at reft in dbrabam’s bofom, in the {tate of blifs and happinefs in heaven, and it was not in the power of men and devils to difquiet it; nor would he have talked of his being brought up, but rather of his coming down, had it been really he; much lefs would he have acknowledged that he was brought up by Saa/, by means of a witch, and through the help of the devil: and Saul anfwered, I am fore diftrefed; in mind, being in great ftraits and difficulties, preffed hard upon by men, and forfaken of God, as follows: for the Philiftines make war againft me fo they had many times, and he had been victorious, and had no reafon to be fo much diftrefled, if that was-all: but he adds, and God is departed from me and therefore he feared he fhould be left to fall’into their hands; and that he had forfaken him he congum, *‘ and he is for the help of a man, whofe - enmity thou fhareft in;” or who is at enmity with thatjthee, meaning David, but now the true Samuel would never have faid this, or fuggefted it, that David was an enemy to Saul, for he was not.

y.17. And the Lord hath done to bim, 8c.) To David, Saul’s enemy, as he infinuated he was: as pake dy me; pretending to be the true Samuel, womdnjand wearing the guife of him, he fpeaks his very words, which he was well acquainted with, and could deliver exactly as he did: for the Lord bath rent the kingdom out of thine band, and given it to thy neighdour; which words are exprefled by Samuel, ch. xv. 28. even unto David; which is added by the apparition, by way of explanation, interpreting the words of David; which he might fafely venture to do, feeing fuch a train of circumftances had occurred fince the delivery of thefe words, which plainly made it appear he was intended. a og y.18. Becaufe thou obeyedft not the voice of the Lord, &c.] At Gilgal, as Abarbinel thinks; which is the firft thing for which the kingdom was threatened to be taken from him, ch. xiii. 13, 14. nor executedft his fierce wrath upon Amalek; in {parin 4gag, and the beft of the cattle, ch. xv: 9, 28. therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day; forfaken him, rent his kingdom from and would deliver him into the hands of the a /fines, as follows: had he been the true S he would have told him of fome other fins of his

’ See Webft “ Be al ~ & See Webfter’s Difplaying an ‘yy ae Fe provoking to the Lotd; as his flaughter of the priefts at Nod; his cruel perfecution of David, and efpecially of his afking cowtifel of one that had a familiar fpirit at this time, of which not a word is faid, and yet was the very tranfgreffion for which Saul died, 1 Chrow. x. 135, 14. Pra ee ¥. 19. Moreover, the Lord will alfo deliver Ifrael with thee into the hands of the Philiftines, &c. Not a-word of comfort does he {peak unto him; it’ being the bufinefs of this foul fpirit to drive him to defpair by the permiffion of God; had he been the true Samuel, he would have directed him to have altered his courfe of life; and efpecially his behaviour toward David, ‘and advifed him in thofe difficulties to fend for him, who might have ‘been of fingular ufe unto him;.he would have exhorted him to repentance for his fins, and humiliation before God on account of them, and given him hope on this, that God would appear for him, and work deliverance, as he had done; but inftead of this, tells him, that he and his army would be delivered into the hands of the Philiftines, which he might make a fhrewd guefs at, and venture to fay from the circumftances of things, and the fituation Saal and his people were in; the armies of the Philiflines were very numerous, and. thofe of Jfrael comparatively weak; Saul was quite difpirited, and-God had forfaken him: and to-morrow fhait thou and thy fons be with me; which if underitood in what fenfe it may, feems to be a lie of the devil, and at beft an ambiguous: expreffion, fuch as he has been wont to give in the heathen oracles; if he meant this of himfelf as an evil fpirit, it could not be true of Saul and all his fons, that they fhould be with him in hell, efpecially of Jonathan, who appears throughout the. whole of his life to have beena good man; if he would have it underftood of him as perfonating Samuel, and of their being with him in heaven, it muft be a great ftretch of charity to believe it true of Sau/, fo wicked a man, and who. died in. the aét of felfmurder; though the Fews*, fome of them, underftand it in this fenfe, that his fins were pardoned, and he was faved; and if it is taken in the fenfe of being in the’ftate of the dead, and in the earth, from whence he is faid to afcend, and where the body of Samuel was, which feems to be the beft fenfe that is put upon the phrafe, with me; yet this was not true, if he meant it of all the fons of Saul, as the expreflion feems to fuggeft; for there were J/bbo/beth, and. his two fons by Rizpab, which furvived him; nor was it true of Sau/ and his fons that they were cut off, and that they died the next day; for the battle was not fought till feveral days after this, fee ¥.23. ch. xxix. 1, 10, 11. and xxx. 1,17. and xxxi. 8, g. if it fhould be faid, that ¢o-morrow fignifies fome future time, and not ftri€tly the next day, this fhows the ambiguity. of _the expreffion ufed, and the infignificancy of it to the prefent purpofe; for who knew not that Sau/ and his fons would die fome time or another? the Lord alfo foall deliver the hoft of Ifrael into the band of the Philiftines 5 which is only a repetition of what is faid in the firft claufe. xy. 20. Then Saul fell ftraightway all along on the earth, &c.| Fell at his full length at: once, as if he had.been thunder-ftruck, or: pierced through with a dart or fword: and was fore afraid, becaufe ‘of the words of Samuel, as he fuppofed they were, whofe words never failed: and there was no firength

MU E &, 819 day, nor all the night 5 which contributed the more to his weaknefs; not only’his fears, but not eating any fodd, occafioned his weaknefs; ‘and that thro’ want of an appetite, by reafon of the gtedt concern of his mind in his prefent troubles.

Ve21. Andthe woman came unto Saul, &c.] Having left him and the apparition in a réom by themfelves to converfe together, and perhaps on hearing him fall to the ground éarfie in: and faw that be was fore troubled by his lying on the ground, and the agonies he feemed to be in, and the uneafinef$ that fat upon his countenante: and aid unto him, behold, thine bhandmaid hath obeyed thy voité; in divining by her familiar fpirit for him; and in bringing up Samuel to him, as he defired: and I have put my life in my hand; expofed it to the utmoft danger, fince a perfon of her profeflion, and taken in the exercife of it, was punifhable with death; and efpecially fhe was in the greater danger, as it was Saul himfelf; who had by an edict expelled all fuch perfons from his dominions, who now employed her, as fie perceived: and have bearkened unto thy words.which thou paket unto me; to the oath he had taken, that no hort fhould come to her, which fhe confided in, and relied upon, and to what he bid her do, according to her art of divination,

¥.22. Now therefore, I pray-thee, bearken thou alfo unto the voice of thine bandmaid, &c.| She argues, that as fhe had hearkened unto him to the endangering of her life, it was but reafonable, and might be expected, that he would hearken to her in a cafe that would be to the prefervation of his life: and let me fet a morfel of bread before thee, and eat, that thou mayeft have flrength, when thou goeft on thy way, which fhe might urge, not merely out of refpect to the king, but for her own fake,” left fhould he die in her houfe, fhe might be taken up, not only for a witch, but as being acceffory to the death of the king; and therefore fhe moves, that he would take fome food for refrefhmerit of nature, that he might be able to depart her houfe; and go on his way to his army.

y. 23. But he refufed, and faid; I will not eat, &¢c.] Chufing rather to die with famine than by the fword of the Philifiines; though pethaps his meaning is, he could not eat, his ftomach loathed it, being overwhelmed with grief and trouble: éut his fervants, together with the woman, compelled bim; not by farce, but by arguments; they over-perfuaded him,’ and prevailed upon him to try to eat: and he hearkened unto their voice; and agreed to eat, if he could; fo be arofe from the earth; on which he lay at his full length: and fat upon the bed; or couch, it being now the cuftom to recline on couches at eating; though fome deny that this cuftom obtained fo early.

¥. 24. And the woman had a fat calf in. the houfe, &c.] This was reckoned a very dainty difh in thofe countries, and fit for any guefts, fee Gen. xviii. 7. Fofephus fays', fhe vouchfafed to feed and take care of it in her houfe, and it was very familiar with her; and he highly commends the liberality'of the woman, and as worthy of imitation: and fhe bafted and killed it, and drefled it in fome way or another, and which in thofe times was done {peedily: and took flour and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread therewith s which was fooneft made, fhe not having time to leaven it.

¥. 25. And fhe brought it before Saul, and before bis

in bim; to rife up again, he was quite difpirited fervants, and they did eat, &c.| Of the fatted calf;

and ftrengthlfs: for be bad eaten no bread all the and unleavened bread, which fhe fet upon before before them, in the beft manner fhe could: ¢4en they roe up, and. went away that night, that it that they might get to) the camp without bei. difcovered, by the Philiftines, or known by the = might not be feen in what houfe they had been; andrae ites that they had been out.

HIS chapter gives an account of David’s if he was y going forth with the armies of the Pbiliffines,

¥. 1, 2. of his being objeéted to by the princes the Pbiliftines, who infifted upon his being fent back, x3, 4; 5. of the report Achifo made of it to David, and the difcourfe that pafled between|Ge them upon it, ¥. 6—10. whereby David had alif it way unexpectedly opened for him to be freed from) this fervice, which he gladly embraced, y. 11. the fame Achifh David firtk fled tog. Kémcbi interprets it, that he knew him as well as” ofif he had been with himas many years as days: and Ly” 4ave found no fault in him fince he fell unto me unto this day? the affair of Davia’s going againft the burites, &c. not being yet known by him, or’ was, he approved of it, they being enemies» of his; this fhews, that David behaved with a great deal of prudence to have’ fuch a charaéter-as: this from a king of the Philiftines. eh

¥.1. Now. the Philiftines gathered together all) their armies to Apbek, &c.] Not the city in the tribe of Yudab of that name, o/b. xv. 53. where the Philiftixes had a camp in the time of Samuel, ch. iv. 1. but rather that in the tribe of Afher, Fofb. xix. 30, unlefs there was one of this name in the tribe of IfJachar, not mentioned, fince it feems to have been near Yezreel and Shunem, which were both in that tribe, Jo. xix. 18. and the Ifraelites pitched by @ fountain which is in Fezreel, in the valley of Fezreels of which {ee the notes on JFoye. xix. 18. and Hof 1. 5. and to Saul, fince fhould y.4. And the princes of the Philiftines were wroth wisbh him, &c.) With Achifh, for giving fach a character of David, and taking his part, in’ order’ to detain him, if poflible: and the princes of the Phix liflines faid unio him, make this fellow return; they” {peak of him with contempt, and infift on it, that 4chyh order him to turn back, and go-no farther= with them: that be may go again to his place which’ thou haft appointed him; to Ziklag, the: place that. Achifh had given him for his refidence; they did not defire to have him fent to his own country, a reconciliation be made between them, he would be of great: fervice tov Sau/. againft them: and let bim not gol down with’ us 0 battle; into the valley of Fezreel, where the //raelites had pitched: Jef. in the battle be be am aéverfary to us; and fall upon them behind, being: in the rere, whilft they were engaging in ‘the front — rael: for wherewith fhould he reconcile himunto bis mafter? to Saul he had offended; and fled’ from: fhoulds¢ not be with the heads of thefe men 2? the Pézliftines 5 or unle/s by the beads of thefe men™s; trait| he had no other way of making his peace with his’ mafter, but by cutting off the heads of the Phi- -|/fines; and therefore he was a dangerous man to” take with them into the battle. so hy 9.5. Is not this David, of whom they fang one to another in dances, &c.] Long ago: faying, Saul y.2. Aid the lords of the Philiftines paffed on by hundreds, and by thoufands, &c.| Not that there were fo many lords, for there were but five of them; but thefe marched, fome at the head of hundreds with them, and others at the head of thoufands: dut David and bis men paffed on in thewereward with Achifo; who being the generaliffimo|with J brought up the rere, and David, whom he had Jelf appointed captain of his life-guards, attended him with his men, which in point of gratitude he could not refufe; and yet was in the greateft f and difficulty how to aét, it being both againft his confcience and his intereft to fight againft [ yael, and was waiting and hoping for fome appearance of providence to deliver him out of this) dilemma, and which was quickly feen; but Abarbi- nel thinks David had no other notion in going to the battle, but of being the body-guard of Achi/h, and accompanying him, and that he fhould not fight againit J/rae/, nor for the Philifines; neither hurt the one, nor*help the other..

y¥. 3. Then faid the princes of the Philiftines, &c.

To Achifp; not thofe of the court of Acbifb, who were his fubjeéts, but the confederate princes with him in this war, the lords of the other principalities, as appears by the freedom they took with him, 3.4. what do thefe Hebrews here? or Fews, as the Targum, what haft thou to do with them, or they to be with thee? men of another nation and religion, and known enemies to the Philifines: and Achifp faid unto the princes of the Pbiliftines, in order to foften them, and reconcile them to thefe men, and their being with him: is not this David the lervant of Saul the king of Hrael, between whom there had been a quarrel, and the former had fled from the fatter to him: which hath been with me thefe days, or thefe years; had been with him many days, and he might fay years, as he had been with him one whole year, and part of another, -fee ch. xxvii, 7. and he might have known him longer, that he is an old {worn enemy of ours; and the more valiant and victorious he has been, the lefs iss ~ he to be trufted; fee ch. xviii. 7, and xxi. rr, >

¥. 6. Then Achijh called David, 8&c.} Being fo near him, that he could call unto him himfelf, or” he fent fome perfon to him, to require his prefence with him: and faid unto him, furely, as the Lord: liveth; or Febovah liveth; an oath by the true” God, of whom chif> might have fome know= ledge, as he alfo had of angels, from his converfation with David; though the heathens had a no= tion of a fupreme being, and yet worfhipped other gods, and whom they called Fove, from thisname of Jehovah. Kimchi obferves, that all confefs 2 he fwore by him in whom David believed, per= — might pay the greater regard to his oath: thou bajE been upright, fincere, honeft, faithful and juft in: all his deportment; yet not fo fincere as het ew bis thoufands, and David his ten thoufands; fo - firft caufe, and therefore when he {wore to David) — haps ovt of complaifance to him, or that David him to be, witnefs the road he pretended) he at taken again{t the fouth of Fadab, ch. xxvii. ¢

thy going-out and thy coming-in with me in the Ke Joi

it good in my fight, his behaviour in the army, attending him as the keeper of his head, or captain of his life-guard, was exceeding agreeable him; and he could wifh to have him continued: for Ihave not found evil in thee, fince the day of thy com- \ ing unto me unto this day; whatever he had done before to the Péiliffines, having greatly afflicted and diftrefled them in his wars with them, of which thisfeems to be an exception: meverthele art good in my fight as an angel of God; for his great wifdom, and graceful behaviour, and_inofto! tenfive carriage: notwith/tanding the princes of the Philiftines have faid, be fuall not go up with us to the battle; though Achife had fo good an opinion of him, and had declared it in council, yet an order had paffed there, that he fhould not go to battle with them; there were but five of them; and s, the lords favour thee not; or thou art not acceptable to them, yea, very offenfive and difagreeable.

¥. 7. Wherefore now return, &c.| To Ziklag: and go in peacé 5 not only in a peaceable manner, eafy and fatished, as David was at his very heart to hear this, but all profperity and happinefs attend thee; the Fews" diftinguifh between withing perfons to go in peace, and to go to peace; the former they obferve has not iffued happily, when

Achifo was one of the five, fo that there were four to one for the difmiffing him; and Achif, tho’ a king, was obliged to fubmit. ain

¥. 10. Wherefore now rife up early with thy mafter’s Jervants that are come with thee, &c.) Meaning his 600 men, who were confidered as the fervants and fubjects of Saw/, though with David; and which tacitly carried in it the objection of the Philifiine lords unto them, that fince they were the fervants and fubjects of Sau/, they were not to be.trufted in a battle with him; left finding an op- the other has, and they inftance in the wifh of Feibro to Moses, and of David to Abfalom: that thou difpleafe not the lords of the Philiftines; and what would be the confequence of that he could not fay, but fuggefts it would be moft for his péace portunity, they fhould feize it, and thereby ingratiate themfelves into his favour again: and as foon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depar¢;, he advifes them to get away as foon as they could, left the Piljtines thould fall upon them, and force them, and he could not fay what. mif- y¥.8. And David faid duto Achifo, what have I chief might befal them; wherefore for their fafety done? &e:|) This queftion is anticipated by the fpeech of Acdifh, who had declared he had found no evilin him; but David mutt fay fomething to put on an appearance of concern for being difmiffed, when he was heartily glad of it: and what haft thou found in thy fervant, fo long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight againft the enemies of my lord the king 2 which cannot be excufed of gteat diffimulation, fince nothing was more foreign from his heart, and againft his will, than fighting againft the J/raelites, and which he determined to avoid if poffible,; and glad at heart he was to be thus excufed, and freed from the ftraits and difficulties he was involved in; but that the Philiftines might have ho caufé of fufpicion of order to fight them.

him, and that he was warmly attached to their intereft among whom he was {ftill to continue, he put on thefe airs. Abérdinel is of opinion, that the lords of the Pdiliftines were only afraid. of David, but not of his men, and therefore were not folicitous about their going, but his, which gave David a concern; and fince he was particularly fingled out, he defired to know what {pecial evil had been found in him; but when he underftood by the following anfwer of Achi/h, that his fervants were to go with him, he was content, and faid no more; but the princes afked, what do thefe Hebrews bere? ¥.3.@

¥.9: And Achifh anfwered and faid unto David, &c.] In reply to the queftions: I know that thou

HIS chapter relates the condition Ziklag was in, when David and his men came to it, the city burnt, and their families carried captive by the Amalekites, which occafioned not only a general lamentation, but mutiny and murmuring in David’s men, ¥. 1—6. the enquiry David made of the Lord what he fhould do, who is bid to purfue the enemy; and being directed by a lad where it was beft to depart as foon as they could feé their way. rr ¥.11. So David and his men rofe up early to depart in the morning, &c.] Being as willing and ready to go, as the Philifines were defirous they fhould: to return into the land of the Pbiliftines; for now they were in the Jand of J/rael, at Apbek, near Fezreel, from whence they went back to Ziklag, which was within the principality of Gath; and, according to Bunting*, was 88 miles from the place where the army-of the Pdiliftines was; but it feems not very likely that it fhould be fo far off: and the Pbiliftines went up to Fexreel; where the army of the [/raelites lay encamped, in By the dimiffion, of David from the army of the Pbilifiines, he was not only, delivered from a fad plunge he was in, either of acting an ungrateful part to Achi/h, or an unnatural one to J/rael, but alfo by the preffing charge of Achifh to get away as early as poffible in the morning, he came time enough to refcue the prey the Amalekites had taken at Ziklag his city, as in the following chapter, and the providence of God in. this affair.is farther obfervable, as by fome reprefented, fince if David had ftayed in the camp of the Phili/tines, it would not have been fo eafy for him on the death of Sau/ to have got from them, and fucceed in the kingdom, as he could and.did from Zzk/ag.

they were, fell upon them, and routed them, and brought back the captives with a great fpoil, ¥. 7—20. the diftribution of the fpoil, both to thofe that went with him, and to thofe who through faintnefs were left behind, ¥. 21—25. and the prefents of it he fent to feveral places in the tribe of ‘tudab, who had been kind to him when he dwelt among them, ¥. 26—31. 3 “?

y. 1. And it came to pafs when David and bis men were come to Ziklag on the third day, &c. Either from their departure from thence, when they went out with Achifo, or rather from the time of their leaving Achifh, and the camp of the Philiftines; fo Jong they were upon their march homewards, fee 2 Sam.i. 1, 2. and no wonder, if it was the diftance of 88 miles, fee the note on ch. xxix. 11. that the Amalekites had invaded the fouth, and. Ziklag; the fouthern parts of the land of the Pbrli/- tines, and of Fudab, as appears from y. 14. taking the opportunity of the Philiftines being gone into the land of J/rael, and particularly of David's abfence from Zik/ag, to whom they bore a grudge for his invafion, deftruétion and fpoil of them not long ago, fee ch. xxvii. 8. and fmitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fire; not that they {mote the inhabi- ’ tants of it, there were no men in it, and the women and children they carried captive; but they demolifhed the buildings in it, pulled'down the houfes after they had rifled them, and burnt them with fire, that David and his men might dwell there no more. y.2. And had taken the women captives, that were therein, &c.] There being no other to take, the men were gone with David; they flew not any, either great or fmall; that is, of the women, whether married or. unmarried, old, or maidens, or children; which was very much, fince David deftroyed all that came within his reach, men and women, when he invaded them, ch. xxvii. 9. but perhaps this was not owing to their humanity, but -to their covetouinefs, defigning to make an advantage of them by felling them for flaves,; no doubt they were reftrained by the providence of God: but carried them away, and went on their way; homewards with their captives. _

¥. 3. So David and bis men came to the city, &c.) Or however to the place where it had ftood, and where it now lay in ruins: and bebold, it was burnt with fire; the whole city was laid in afhes: and their wives, and their fons, and their daughters, were taken captives; as it appeared afterwards; for upon their firft coming they knew not but they were all deftroyed; and which they might reafonably fuppofe from their former treatment of them, unlefS there were any left upon the fpot which could inform them how things were, which does not appear; and which muft make their diftrefs the greater.

¥. 4. Then David and the people that were with him lift up their voice, &¢c.]- In doleful fhrieks, and loud lamentations: ad wept, until they bad no more power to weep; till nature was quite exhaufted, and no moifture left; fo the Vulgate Latin verfion, till tears failed in them; they could fhed no more.

¥. 5. And David’s two wives were taken captives,.&c.] Which is obferved as one caufe of his particular diftrefs, and another follows in’ the next verfe: Abincam the ‘fezreelite/s, and Abigail the ‘ wife of Nabal the Carmelite;. that is, who had been his wife; for he was now dead, and was fo before fhe was married to David; both thefe came with him to Gath, and were left at Zik/ag when he went with Acbifo, and here. they were taken; fee ch.

did of Mo/és and Aaron, Numb. xiv.10.. the reafon, of this was, becaufe, as they judged, it was aie > ing to David that they went along with Achiff, a left the city defencelefs; and becaufe he had pro- — voked the Amalekites by his inroad upon thems, who took this opportunity of avenging themfelves. Abarbinel is of opinion, that it was his. excefs of forrow for his two wives, and his remiffnefs and backwardnefs to take vengeance on on liga that provoked them, and put them on talking after this manner: becaufe the foul of all the people — was grieved, every man for bis fons and for his daughters; as well as David; and they were very defirous of recovering them if poffible, and of taking vengeance on. thoie who had carried them captive: but David encouraged bimfelf in the Lord his God; took all patiently, and exercifed faithon his God;. he encouraged himfelf in the power and providence of God; inthe promifes of God, and his faithfulnefs in keeping them; in a view Of his cove- - nant-relation to God; in remembrance of the grace, mercy and goodnefs of God; and his former experiences of it; hoping and believing that God would appear for him in fome way or another, and. work falvation for him. The Targum is, ** he ftrengthened himfelf in the Word of the Lord his — God;” in Chrift the Word of God, and in the ~ power of his might, and in the grace that is in him, Epb. vi. 10. 2 Tim. ii. 1. vk sca enahe tan y.7. And David faid to Abiathar the prich, y melech’s fon, &c.] The fon of Abimelech, who was flain at Nod by the order of Saul; and Abiathar his fon, who fled to David with the ephod, on the death of his father, was now high-prieft in his room; and who it feems was with David when he went with Achi/f/, and returned with him; for had he been left at Zik/ag, he and his ephod, in all probability, had been carried off by the 4malekites, unlefs we can fuppofe him under the protection of a fpecial providence; it is much David. had not enquired of the Lord by him about his — going with Achi/h; perhaps the, prefent difafter brought to mind that neglect, and made him the more diligent now: I pray thee, bring me. hither the ephod, not to put it on himfelf, but that the high-prieft might put it on, and enquire by it before him of the Lord: and Abiathar brought thi-» ther the ephod to David; for the fake of David, that enquiry might be made before him of the Lord, by Urim and Thummim, - X.8, And David enquired of the Lord, &c,| That is, by Abiathar, who reported his queftions to’ the Lord in his name: /ayiag, /hall I purfue “after this troop? the large company of the Amalekiter, as it appears by what follows they were: /ball I over= take them? two queftions are here put together, and anfwers returned to them, contrary to a notion of the Hews; fee the note on ch. xxiii. 22. and he ~ anfwered him, purfue; which refpects the firft queftion: for thou falt furely overtake them; which is an anfwer to the fecond queftion, and a full one, giving full affurance of overtaking; to whichis added, more than what was enquired about: and without — fail recover all; their wives, fons and daughters, and the fpoil that was taken; or in delivering bes =. Joalt dehver*, out of the hands Bier " XXV. 42, 43. and xxvii. 3. kites, whatfoever they had taken. __ ¥. 6. And David was greatly diftreffed, &c,] Partly for the lofs of his two wives, and partly becaufe of the mutiny and murmuring of his men: for the people fpake of froning bim; as the Iraelites yf. 9. So David went, be and the 600 men thas were with him, &c.] Encouraged the. or; of the Lord: and came to the brook Belor “*. Adrichomius 4 places in the tribe of Simeon; it i thought to be near Gaza. Arifteus' {peaks of brooks that flowed by Gaza and Afpdod, places that belonged to the Péilifines,; fome take it to be the tiver of the wildernefs in Amos vi. 14. fee the note a part of them were left, as the Targum; all the 600 came to this brook, but 200 of them were left here, as the following verfe fhows, and ftayed here till theweft returned; for this is not to be underftood of any that were left behind at Zik/ag, for all came from thence to this brook.

y. 10. But David purfued, be and 400 men, 8c.) Not difcouraged with being obliged to leave a third part of his little army behind; tho’ it was doubt- Jefs a trial of his faith, with thefe to purfue an enemy, whofe numbers he knew not, which mutt greatly exceed his; for after the rout and flaughter of them, as many efcaped on camels as David had with him, », 17. for 200 abode behind, which were fo faint; ghrough their grief and forrow for the lofs of their wives and children, and through their march from the camp of the Pdilifines to Ziklag, and from thence hither, that they looked like a corps, as the word fignifies; Pracopius Gazaeus has it, only 70 men: fo that they could not go over the brook Befor; being fo weak and feeble; for this was not owing to fear of their enemies, and faintheartednefs on that account, then it would rather have been faid, they would not go over; the Targum renders the word faint, by retrained or prohibited, as if they were forbid by David to go over, but were ordered to tarry here by the ftuff, whilft the reft purfued; and, according to the Syriac.and Arabic verfions, they were placed there, that none might go over the brook; and it feems, by ¥. 22. that they had a good will to go over, but were made to abide there; or as all Gideon’s army, but 3005 were fent back, and not fuffered to go with him, being too many.

v.11. And they found an Egyptian in the field, &c.] As they paffed along, lying there, having been fick, and was half-ftarved, almoft dead: and brought him to David, to know what was to be done with him; being in the habit of a feldier, they concluded he might be one of the company they were in purfuit of; butwhether they fhould kill him, or make ufe of him as an intelligencer and guide, could they bring him to himfelf, they knew not, and therefore brought him to David: and gave him bread, and be did eat, and they made him drink water; both which they had with them for their own ufe; had he been an Amalekite, and not an Egyptian, they might not have relieved or fpared him, bue muft have deftroyed him. at once; fee Deut. xxiv. 19.

y. 12. And they gave him a piece of cake of figs, &c.] That were dried and preffed together, and made into cakes: and two clufters of raifins, or dried grapes, as the Yargum: and when he had eaten, bis fpirit came again to him; he feemed to be quite difpirited, almoft lifelefs, but upon eating fome food he was refrefhed, and his {pirits revived, and he was capable of converfing: for be bad eaten no bread, nor drank any water, three days and three nights; that is, one whole day, and part of two days, as appears from the next verfe.

¥.13. And David faid unto him, to whom belongeft thou? &c.] To what country or people? and to whom among them? azd whence art thou? of what nation? where waft thou born? what countryman art thou? for his being called an

. Egyptian before feems to be by anticipation, unlefs it was guefiéd at by his habit; for until he had eaten and drank, he could not fpeak, and fo could not be known by his fpeech: for be faid, Tam a

Joung man of Egypt; that was the country he bethere: where thofe that were left behind flayed 3 or longed to, and came from; he was an Egyptian by birth: fervant to.an Amalekite,; one of thofe that had invaded the country; and burnt Ziklag, as it follows:.and my majfter left me, becaufe three days agone I fell fick, which was very barbarous and cruel to leave him at all, when they had camels with them, ¥: 17. and no doubt carriages for their arms, provifion, and {poil, and men; and more fo to leave him without any body with him to take care of him, and without any food, was he capable of eating any; but fo it was ordered by the providence of God, that he fhould be left to be the inftrument of the juft ruin’ of his mafter; and of the wholé troop.

¥. 14. We made an invafion upon the fouth of the Cherethites, 8c.) The Philiftines fo called, or at leaft one nation of them, fuch that dwelt to the fouth of the land, ¥. 16. feethe note on Zepb. ii. 5. and upon the coaft which belongeth to ‘fudab; the fouth of Fudah, where David pretended he had been, and had fpoiled, and which was now actually done by the Amalekites, ch. xxvii. 10. and upon the

South of Caleb, that part of the tribe of Fudab which belonged to Caleb the. fori of Fephunneb, and his pofterity, and which was the fouthern part of it, Fofo. xv. 19. and we burnt Ziklag with fire; and then departed. é'

¥. 15. And David faid unto bim;, canft thou bring me down to this company? 8&c.] That is, fhew him, or direct him where they were: and he faid, fwear unto me by God; the Targum is, by the Word of the Lord; but it is highly probable this man had no notion of Fehovab, and his Word, or of the true God; only that there was a God, and that an oath taken by him was folemn, facred and inviolable, and might be trufted to and depended on: that thou wilt neither kill me; for he found now he was in the hands of thofe, whofe city he had been concerned in plundering and burning, and fo might fear his life was in danger: wor deliver me into thé hands of my mafter; who had been a cruel one to him, and therefore would gladly be clear of him 5 and if he had nothing elfe againft him, his late ufage of him was fufficient to raife his refentment of him: aud I will bring thee down to this company; or thew him where they were, having heard them fay where they would ftop,.and make merry; and divide their fpoil; and perhaps his mafter might tell him they would be at fuch a place at fuch a time, where, if he was better; he might come to them; the Vulgate Latin verfion adds; and David fwore to him; which, though not exprefied in the original text, was. no doubt done by him; and the Syriac and Arabic verfions begin the following verfe thus, when David had fworn to him..

y. 16. And when he bad-brought bim down, &c.] To the place where the company of the 4malekites were, or near it: debold, they were /pread abroad upon all the earth; they were not in any regular order, and much lefs in any military form; but lay about in the fields, fcattered here and there, were in detached parties: fome eatiag and drinking; in one place: and others dancing; in another place, expreffing their joy, and perhaps their thankfulnefs to their idols: becaufe of the great {poil they bad taken out of the land of the Philiftines, and out of the land of Judah, from Ziklag, and th i fouth of the Cheretbites, and the fouth of Fudab, they -had invaded, ¥.14. and here they were in the greateft fecurity; knowing that the armies of the Philiftines were gone into the land of J/rael, and were about to engage in battle with the / raelites, and David they fuppofed was with the Philiftines, fo that they had nothing to fear from any quarter; and thus it is often, that when men cry peace, peace, fudden deftruction comes upon them. ¥.17. And David {mote them from the twilight, even unto the evening of the next day, &c.| As there are two twilights, the twilight of the morning, and the twilight of the evening; this is differently underftood; fome take it for the twilight of the morning, and that it was night when David came to them, and Jet them alone till they were _ drunk and afleep, and then early in the morning fell upon them, and fmote them until the evening; fo Fofephus* relates it; but others take it to be the twilight of the evening, and that he fell upon men as they returned with the fpoil, giving him all the honour of it, of whom, but they talked of ftoning. om ¥:21. And David came ‘ta the 200 men, &c.|° Left at the brook Befor: who were fo faint t they could not follow David, or, as the Targum, were reftrained from going over after him, either through faintnefs of {pirits, and weaknefs of body, or through the order of David that they fhould not follow him; and which feems to receive fome ° countenance from what follows: whom they bad made alfo to abide at the brook Befor, to guard the paflage there, and to tarry by and keep the ftuff: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him; to congratulate them upon the victory they had obtained, and to fee and receive their wives and children, and what portion’ of the fpoil might be divided to them: and when David came neat to the people; he faluted them; afked them of their welfare, whether they were in them that night, and continued the flaughter of better health, and recovered of their faintnefs and them to the evening of the next day, with which agrees the Targum; nay, fome take the next day, or the morrow, to be, that which followed after}.

the two evenings; fo that this laughter was carried weaknefs, as it fhould feem they were, by their coming forth to meet him.

¥.22. Then anfwered all the wicked men, and men of Belial, of thofe that went with David, 8ec. on to the third day:. and there efcaped not a man of

Who were il]-natured men, and of covetous dif- them, fave 400 young men that rode upon camels, and fled; that fort of camels called dromedaries, according to Fo/fephus*, and which were very wift, and much ufed by the Arabians, near whom thefe people dwelt, fee Jf 1x. 6. Fer. ii. 23.

y. 18. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, &c.| The wives and children of the Jraelites, and their goods, excepting the provifions they had ate: and David refcued bis two wives, which is particularly obferved, becaufe a fpecial concern of his.

¥.19. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither fmall nor great, neither fons nor daughters, 8c. } Not any of the leaft or youngeft, nor any of them that were grown up; for as thefe were not flain, but carried captive, fo they were brought. back, and not one miffling, fee ¥. 2. neither /poil, nor any thing they had taken to them, except the food they had ate, and the liquor they had drank, as before obferved; and perhaps what they had ate and drank were none of theirs; but the Pdiliftines: fo that David recovered all; taken in the utmoft extent. /

¥. 20. And David took all the flocks,: and the herds, 8c.J Which they had taken from the land of the Philiftines, or which belonged to the Amalekites properly: which they drave before thofe other ‘cattle; which had been carried from Ziklag; firft, went the fpoil taken from other places, and then thofe taken from David and his men, or what was found at Ziklag. Abarbinel fuppofes the meaning to be this, that the herds were driven before the flocks, that the oxen were led out firft, and then the fheep followed, as being the weaker fort, and more eafily to be driven, and carried off; but the former fenfe feems beft: and faid, this is David's fpoil, either the whole of it, it being owing to him that it was got or brought back; or this may refpect fome peculiar part of it made a prefent of to him; or it may defign what the Amalekites had taken from others, which was at the difpofal of David, as diftinguifhed from what was taken from Zik/ag, and was reftored, or to be reftored to the proper owners: it may be taken in the firft and more general fenfe, as being the fong, or the burden of the fong, fung by David's